Chennai: The Madras High Court on Tuesday issued notices to five senior IAS officers and a Joint Commissioner of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, observing that a prima facie case of contempt had been made out against them in connection with an alleged failure to comply with court directions in a temple land encroachment case.
The First Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice K.R. Shriram and Justice Sunder Mohan, passed the order on a contempt petition filed by S. Vinoth Raghavendran, the State Secretary of the BJP’s Spiritual and Temple Development Wing. The matter is slated for the next hearing on July 10.
Background: Temple Land Allegedly Occupied by School
The contempt plea stems from a writ petition filed in 2024, alleging that St. Joseph’s Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Cuddalore district had encroached upon land belonging to the Devanathaswamy Temple.
According to the petitioner, two survey numbers of the land where the school is located are temple properties. During the initial hearing, the HR&CE department confirmed that the school had earlier filed a writ petition in 2009, which led to a 2019 court order mandating that alternative land (at least 4.5 acres) be provided to the school—either in Bhuvanagiri village or another accessible location.
Despite this, the proposal for alternative land remained pending with the Tamil Nadu government for over five years, prompting the Division Bench in April 2024 to order the government to identify suitable land within six months.
Alleged Non-Compliance Prompts Contempt Action
The court had also directed that the HR&CE department conduct a survey of other temple lands in the area within three months and take action against encroachments. The current contempt petition alleges that these directions were not followed, warranting court intervention.
Those named in the contempt plea include:
- P. Amudha – then Revenue Secretary
- S. Madhumathi – then School Education Secretary
- B. Chandramohan – then HR&CE Secretary
- P.N. Sridhar – then HR&CE Commissioner
- Sibi Adhithya Senthilkumar – then Cuddalore Collector
- Joint Commissioner of HR&CE Department
Court’s Stance: Officials Must Be Held Accountable
The Bench noted that the state had sufficient time to comply with its orders, and the lack of progress indicated possible wilful disobedience. The issuance of contempt notices signals that the court is holding senior officials to account for lapses in execution of judicial orders.
Legal observers say this case may set a precedent in matters involving temple land encroachments and official accountability within state departments.
